Turf Titbits

In a round up of Clarets news that you may have missed this week, Clarke Carlisle has been named the new head of the PFA, the Council have approved our development plans for Gawthorpe and both Kevin Long and Kevin McDonald have joined Wes Fletcher in having their loans extended at Accrington Stanley and Scunthorpe respectively.

Carlisle is New Head of PFA

Clarke Carlisle has been named the new chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) following their recent AGM. He replaces Chris Powell and said about his appointment

'What an honour and a privilege it is for me to have this role bestowed upon me.

'I am proud to have been appointed chairman of what is a fantastic union backed by an incredible work force.

'I would like to thank Chris for the magnificent job he has done in his five years in the chair.

'He has been exemplary throughout his tenure. Not only is he an upstanding citizen, he is a fantastic role model for players and the general community.

'There has been no better person to talk to and learn from in terms of the role I am about to undertake.'

We all congratulate Clarke on this great achievement and wish him well in his new job.

Gawthorpe Plans Approved by Council

The club received some good news week after the borough council agreed to their proposals to expand and improve the facilities at their Gawthorpe training ground despite the area being classed as green-belt. The plans included a new indoor training arena with changing rooms, a gym, referee's room, staff offices, a meeting area and kitchen.

Gawthorpe may have been revolutionary and state-of- the- art when it was first introduced in the fifties but it has basically remained stuck in a bygone age and it is certainly not something that would currently attract modern day players today. The club played on this stating the existing facilities fell 'well short of the standard expected for a club of this size and stature' and the Council appear to have accepted the argument. The planning committee agreed with council officers that there were 'very special circumstances' for allowing the development on green belt land.

The next stage will be to now get approval for work to commence from the Secretary of State and the club appear optimistic that this would be received within the next 21 days.

More Loan Extensions Confirmed

As previously announced on this site 20 year old striker Wes Fletcher extended his loan at Stockport County this week and he will now spend an extra month at Edgeley Park. Two other of our players though also got loan extensions this week at their respective clubs.

We had already reported that Scunthorpe United manager Ian Baraclough was hoping to extend the loan of our midfielder, Kevin McDonald for another month and he was successful this week.

Following talks with Burnley boss Brian Laws, the 22-year-old agreed to a second month at Glanford Park.

Meanwhile Clarets' defender Kevin Long will also spend a second month out on loan at Accrington Stanley.

The two clubs have agreed an extension to the deal which will keep Long at the Crown Ground until December 11.

Long has made four appearances for Stanley in his first taste of League football.

The 20-year-old was sent off on his debut but enjoyed a strong end to his first month to earn an extended stay with the League Two side.

Clarets Face Away Trip in Youth Cup

The Clarets youth team have been drawn away to Port Vale or Grimsby Town in the third round of the FA Youth Cup.

Burnley join the competition at that stage with the tie scheduled to be played by Saturday, December 11.

Terry Pashley`s side will find out their opponents after Vale and Grimsby play their second-round fixture on Monday, November 22.

MacDonald makes Scotland under 21 debut

Alex MacDonald made his debut for the Scotland under 21s on Wednesday night after playing the second 45 minutes of their friendly game against Northern Ireland U21 at Firhill. The 20 year old striker did not get on the score sheet but helped his side achieve a 3-1 victory. Brian Laws now looks set to let MacDonald go out on loan to get more competitive games in the lower leagues and gain some valuable experience